2011 Family Retrospective

I have had several people tell me they were just ready for 2011 to be gone and to get the new start in 2012. It has been a difficult year for a lot of my friends, and it can be easy to focus on the negative. But something I heard today stuck with me; nobody has "proof" that positive thinking "works" but we know that negative thinking does.

So here are some highlights of the past year.

Early in February, I went to a conference in Minneapolis (you have to mean to go to a conference then and there - you don't get there by accident) and ended up getting snowed in and staying a little later than planned (thanks, Joel, Shay, and Juju (and don't forget Jake) for letting me crash at their place!) I went running there - outside, of course, in the -8* windchill... those northerners are tough!

Of course, less than a month later, my family got the opportunity to go on a cruise. We had never done it before but the price was right and the destination (western Caribbean) was perfect. I had to ask what one must do to be appointed the pastor of the Antigua Methodist Church! ;-) One of my highlights was snorkeling. That was a blast! We didn't even mind being "stuck" on the ship, and I was the only one who ever felt seasick. Running around the little track while the ship was moving was somewhat adventurous!

In the Spring, Jonathan continued to play soccer, and I was one of his coaches. We had a good time, and it was fun to see the kids grow in their skills. Andrew decided not to play Spring soccer, because he just wanted to play baseball. But when soccer season started, he was very disappointed to not have a game!

Both boys got to play on the same t-ball team; Andrew loved it and Jonathan put up with it. I've never been a baseball player or fan, but I managed to get out a lot with the boys to play catch or to practice batting. 

In May, I ran a personal best in the half marathon at Cap City (Columbus). I ran 1:36, which was16 minutes faster than I'd ever raced (though I'd run a 1:44 in training). It was a fun race; I could get into racing half marathons!

June, July, and August had us taking short travel breaks. In June we went to Lakeside (for my Annual Conference) - we took a side trip to ride on the Cuyahoga Scenic Railroad with the cousins. In July we went to Lake Michigan with Tara's family. The boys always enjoy the beach. In August we went to Camp Sychar and spent ten days there. It was really hot, but I still managed to have the most mileage of the summer while we were there, as the Kokosing Gap Trail was a mile away from camp.

Erie, Pennsylvania, was the setting in September, as I ran the Erie Marathon at Presque Isle. I was shooting for 3:20, which was the cut-off for my (new) age group to qualify for the Boston Marathon. My training was solid, but I fell short in my attempt by 4 minutes. I wasn't upset about it, because it was still as 16 minute personal best. Who can complain about that?

Since we were already that way, we decided to go on to Niagara Falls. The boys really loved it, and I was surprised how well my legs cooperated after Erie. We walked a lot! Jonathan and Andrew got to experience their first out-of-country trip, as we stayed on the Canadian side.

In the fall, both boys got to play soccer. I coached Andrew's U5 team, the Kickers (the team chose their name). They were so much fun! Jonathan played for the CFA Academy team, meaning they traveled all over the Columbus area for their games (in addition to two practices per week). They also had a tournament in Cincinnati, where they were runners-up (losing in the championship game in penalty kicks after overtime). That was a lot of soccer, especially since I didn't play this year!

For my 40th birthday this year, I went for a three-day silent retreat, and I loved it. I loved getting to spend uninterrupted time with God. What a fantastic birthday gift.

Jonathan also started Cub Scouts this year, meaning popcorn sales, den meetings, pack meetings, badges, everything-o-rees, and Tara and I leading his den. He really enjoys it, and Andrew can't wait until he gets to be a Cub Scout.

We also joined AWANA this year, and it has been a blessing watching (and helping) the boys memorize scripture and have such fun doing it. During my Christmas sermon, I was so proud as I watched Andrew quoting John 3:16 along with me.

Through this year I have made some good friends, especially running friends, and have been blessed by so many people. I am looking forward to what God has in store for us in 2012!

Over the Top

Today for my day off, we planned a busy day, including a trip to The Chiller to enjoy their (less expensive) noon skate. On the way out, we picked up some used ice skates at Play it Again Sports (think early Christmas presents), and we were all excited to try them out.

When we got to the Chiller (we go to the "Ice Haus" one at Nationwide Arena), it seemed awfully empty... and the guy behind the counter told us why; there was no noon skate scheduled today. It seems the Blue Jackets had scheduled the ice, and, well, if it weren't for the Blue Jackets, there wouldn't be an Ice Haus. He really politely told us that if we wanted to, we could come back for the skate at 3:45, which wasn't really a choice for us, because we needed to be back to M'port around 4.

We tried to think of something else to do with the kids in the arena district, when the guy behind the counter came back out. He explained that the goalie had been out skating and had only used a corner of the ice and it would be better ice for what they had scheduled later if the ice was more cut up, so if we waited for a while, we could skate after all. We just had to wait for one guy who was out practicing.

It was actually cool to watch him practice - it can be easy to forget how quick a hockey player has to be to excel in his sport. But after he had finished, we got the go-ahead to take the ice. We had a great time!

Jonathan really is picking up ice skating. Andrew spent a lot of time on the ice. But both boys had a lot of fun, and Tara and I enjoyed it fully.

But that wasn't all. The guy behind the counter, feeling bad that we had to wait so long to skate, gave us four free passes to come back and skate. And when we were leaving, he gave the boys each a Columbus Blue Jackets hockey stick.

He didn't have to let us skate at all; after all, the mistake was ours. He could have just told us "sorry, we don't have noon skate today" and we wouldn't have held it against him, the Chiller, or the Blue Jackets. But he went above and beyond, over the top even, in his customer service. What an awesome day!

Turkey Trot Race Recap

This was the inaugural Turkey Trot 5K put on by my friend and the Mount Vernon Running Buddies on Thanksgiving morning. It was cold here, and I didn't know how to dress for the race - especially needing to dress over an hour before. So I went with tights and a semi-warm long-sleeve tech T, gloves and headband. That turned out to be too warm (of course). The wind was pretty chilly, but it was almost 40* by race time. This race was a free race benefiting Food for the Hungry, a local (Mt. Vernon) food bank. I figured it was a good cause and I still owed Dave one for running me in at Erie, so I made the trek up to Mt. Vernon.

Dave told me that I might be one of the faster runners there, so I paid close attention to the race instructions, especially directions. Thankfully Dave's dad led the pack on his bike, so I didn't get lost. Since I was the first one there, I got to sign in first, and I was given the "elite" bib number... #1! It wasn't really a "bib" per se; it was a nametag with a number printed on it. But I was #1.

After everyone had signed in and given their donations to Food for the Hungry and after about two miles of warm-up around campus, Dave gave some race instructions, took a group picture,  and lined us up at the start line.

The race started out with a mad sprint through campus. It was quickly clear who the competition was - two young guys sprinted to the front and pulled out to a sizable lead. I was already thinking "third isn't bad" when I realized that the one kid was not running steady; he was speeding up and slowing down. At that, I knew he was mine. I passed him around the mile mark, and he told me "good job." I told him to run smoothly, just keep going. The other guy was a cross-country-runner looking guy, and he was out in front by a bit. As we turned into the wind, I thought that I ought to let him take the wind for me. So I kicked it and caught up with him to draft. At first I don't think he realized I was there - he had his headphones on - and he turned and spat just as I was catching up to him... thanks a lot, buddy! As I picked up the pace, he started looking back... meaning I was in his head. So instead of drafting, I kicked past him, putting distance between us. I figured he was strong and he would keep up with me, but he didn't.

So after the 1 1/2 mile mark, I was out in front. It was hard to keep mentally in the race, but I determined not to look back. After all, the only race I have to run is what is in front of me! I kept concentrating on Dave's dad on the lead bike and kept going. When we went around a sharp corner, I snuck a look back and cross country guy was wayyyy back.

I tried to keep my concentration level high, not to think about how far back anybody might be, to keep my pace steady, and to only look forward. I kept pushing to keep up with Dave's dad on the lead bike (and he kept pulling away - amazing how much easier it is to go fast on a bike!), but that was what I needed from him. 

As we pulled back onto campus, nobody was close. Coming around one corner, my "bib" went flying off (I picked it up later on my cool-down run). I figured (correctly) that nobody would care. I had one spot where I was a little confused on the course, but it turned out OK, as I came around the corner and saw the finish line ahead of me.

I took this moment to look at my Garmin and I saw that a PR was in the realm of possibility, so I pushed as hard as I could to the finish line. Alas, I was one second off the PR, finishing in 19:28. 

Pretty much as soon as I finished, I turned around and ran the course in reverse direction as a cool down. I was so pumped up from the outright win that I probably could have run it three times. This was my first overall win since the 8th grade, and it felt good!